Law officers prepare for Thanksgiving holiday traffic

The Thanksgiving holiday week is traditionally one of the busiest traffic weeks of the year, and, unfortunately, one of the most dangerous for travelers.

By Stephanie TaylorStaff Writer

The Thanksgiving holiday week is traditionally one of the busiest traffic weeks of the year, and, unfortunately, one of the most dangerous for travelers. University of Alabama researchers have found that more parties, more vehicles on the road at night, more drivers on roads they are less familiar with and more tired and distracted drivers have led to an increase in fatal crashes in recent years.“With substantially increased traffic volume over a short period, this combination is a recipe for potential disaster,” said Allen Parrish, the director of UA’s Center for Advanced Public Safety, which conducted the study.Law enforcement officers across the state will be conducting extra patrols and will be on the lookout for people who aren’t wearing their seat belts.“The Northport Police Department will be out. We’ll have extra officers on the street, we’ll be enforcing all traffic laws, concentrating on seat belt and child restraint violations,” NPD Sgt. Heath Smitherman said at a news conference held by West Alabama Community Traffic Safety on Friday morning.Director Maxie Thomas said that seat belt use greatly lowers the chance that someone will die in a crash.During the 2010 Thanksgiving holiday period between Wednesday and Sunday, 337 vehicle occupants were killed in crashes across the country. Of those, 55 percent weren’t wearing a seat belt.In Alabama last year, nine people were killed between Wednesday and Sunday. One was a motorcycle occupant and of the remaining eight, only two were wearing seat belts, said Alabama State Trooper Sgt. Frank Hennigan. Of the nine, four were alcohol-related, he said.“We’d like everyone to slow down, to buckle up and avoid drinking and driving,” he said. “We’d also like to promote pedestrian safety and urge people to be cautious while walking along roadways, particularly when it’s dark. Watch your speed, don’t drink and drive and watch your following distance. We want this to be a safe holiday period for all.”Tuscaloosa Police Sgt. Brent Blankley said that the department will be out in “full force.”“We’ll be writing every citation we possibly can for not wearing a seat belt or having child restraint seats,” he said. “When officers ask people that they pull over why they’re not wearing a seat belt, one of the biggest things we hear is ‘I’m just going down the road’ or ‘I don’t want to be trapped in a vehicle.’ It’s no secret that seat belts save lives. However, so many people still do not wear them.”The CAPS researchers at UA found that, nationwide, there was an average of 748 traffic fatalities each week during a six-year period. That increased by 50 during Thanksgiving week. In Alabama, 16 crashes occurred in an average week in 2011. Thanksgiving weeks had an average of 17.Speed was the most common factor in the fatal crashes, the researchers found. More crashes occurred in rural areas, and during nighttime or early morning hours. Thanksgiving Day was the day when fewer travelers were on the road. AAA projects that 43.6 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home during the holiday weekend, a slight increase of 0.7 percent over the 43.3 million people who traveled last year. The increase marks the fourth consecutive year of growing holiday travelers since 2008, when Thanksgiving travel fell by 25 percent. The Thanksgiving holiday travel period is defined as Wednesday, Nov. 21 to Sunday, Nov. 25.The Wednesday before Thanksgiving is expected to be the busiest travel day, according to AAA.